Why a cooking blog?

For as long as I can remember, I've loved to cook and experiment in the kitchen.  Recently, I have begun studying nutrition and am certified as a Nutrition and Weight Management Advisor through Future Fit Training, a UK-based program.  In July I will be starting a year-long program to become a Health Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Through all this, my love for cooking has always been there, although recently my cooking has changed a bit to reflect changes in my life.  Around March of this year my husband and I became vegetarian and I found that my love for cooking has intensified.  When I used to cook with meat, I often found myself stuck in a rut of making the same things.  I feel that with vegetarian cooking there is so much to experiment with, and I find myself scouring the internet collecting recipes and building up my cookbook collection with new books, making healthy and delicious food filled with vegetables, beans, lentils, legumes, nuts, seeds, and tons of spices.

Many people have told me that they want to cook vegetarian and vegan, but are often overwhelmed at what to cook, or think that it is difficult and time consuming.  Not so!  I have only been vegetarian for a few months and although I'm not vegan I do enjoy cooking vegan meals.  I really have to thank Lindsay Nixon, creator and of www.happyherbivore.com.  I have found most of my vegan cooking through her website and two cookbooks, "The Happy Herbivore Cookbook" and "Everyday Happy Herbivore."  What I love about her recipes is that they are easy and delicious.  A wonderful mix of Indian, Ethiopian, Cajun, Mexican, good ol' home cookin', desserts and more made vegan?  Amazing, I tell you.

I came up with the idea of a cooking blog whilst in the kitchen today experimenting with a raw food snack.  If I can help people get more creative and healthy in the kitchen by showing them some simple, fun and delicious recipes then I will have succeeded!  Currently, most of the recipes you'll see will be other people's creations, but I am hoping to get more creative and come up with some good stuff on my own.  We'll see!